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75 Minn. L. Rev. 427 (1990-1991)
Stumbling beyond Best Interests of the Child: Reexamining Child Custody Standard-Setting in the Wake of Minnesota's Four Year Experiment with the Primary Caretaker Preference

handle is hein.journals/mnlr75 and id is 439 raw text is: Stumbling Beyond Best Interests of the Child: Reexamining Child Custody Standard-Setting in the Wake of Minnesota's Four Year Experiment with the Primary Caretaker Preference Gary Crippen* TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................ 428 I. Origins and Current Support for the Primary Caretaker Preference ................................. 432 II. The Rationale for a Primary Caretaker Preference.. 440 A. Protection of Parent-Child Bonding ............. 440 B. Promotion of Certainty ........................... 442 C. Compatibility with Gender Neutrality and the Multiple Interests of the Child ................... 450 III. Flaws and Failures of the Caretaker Preference in M innesota ............................................. 452 A. Unimpeded Patterns of Litigation ............... 452 B. An Imprecise Definition of Caretaking .......... 460 C. Broad Interpretations of Exceptions to the Caretaker Preference ............................ 470 D. A Lack of Meaningful Appellate Review ........ 480 IV. Criticisms of the Preference .......................... 486 V. An Epilogue to Minnesota's Experience .............. 495 Conclusion .................................................. 499 * Judge, Minnesota Court of Appeals; trial judge, Worthington, Minne- sota 1975-1984; B.S. 1958, J.D. 1960, University of Minnesota Law School; LL.M. 1990, University of Virginia. I am thankful to Elizabeth Scott, J.D., Di- rector, Center for the Study of Children and the Law, University of Virginia Law School, for her valuable comments on earlier drafts of this Article. I also wish to thank Ruth Cullen, Charles Jones and Elliot Olsen, staff of the Min- nesota Court of Appeals, for their technical assistance, and editors and staff of the Minnesota Law Review for their editorial assistance.

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